With God All Things Are Possible
By Brad Tuttle
We pray because with man alone, it is impossible. Recently, I woke up with a heavy burden to pray for the children around the world (born and unborn). The more I interceded against abortion, sex-trafficking, transgenderism, and lies that are being taught to the children in schools, the heavier the burden became. It was almost overwhelming, but then I heard that sweet and much needed voice of the Lord tell me: “With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible” (Matt. 19:26; see Mark 10:27; Luke 18:27).
“But with God” – I instantly laughed with joy in my heart how quickly His one sentence turned everything around in my heart, mind, and spirit. I quickly went from a depressing “oh my, this is terrible, this is impossible,” to “but with God, nothing, absolutely nothing, is impossible!”
We find an encouraging story in Second Kings 3:4-18 where the kings of Israel and Judah planned on fighting against Moab. But, on the way there, they traveled seven days without water; not a good place to be in when you are going to battle. They then sought out Elisha the prophet and were given a word from the Lord. “…You shall not see wind, nor shall you see rain; yet that valley shall be filled with water…” (v. 17). And then they were told, “And this is a simple matter in the sight of the Lord; He will also deliver the Moabites into your hand” (v. 18). Oh, may we always remember “this is a simple matter in the sight of the Lord.”
We read in Genesis 18:12 when Sarah was told by the Lord she would have a son way past childbearing, she laughed. She was then admonished with “Is anything too hard for the Lord?” (v. 14). Job 42:2 reassures us that no plan of the Lord can be thwarted. Oh, let faith arise as Jeremiah 32:27 says, “Behold, I am the Lord, the God of all flesh. Is there anything too hard [difficult] for Me?” As we go through each day, can we ever declare this Scripture enough?
A very promising and heartwarming story is found in Luke 1:26-38 where the angel of the Lord informed the virgin Mary she would have a Son, to which Mary inquired as to how this was possible, since she was a virgin. And the angel declared, “For with God nothing will be impossible” (v. 37). When we are in a seemingly “impossible” situation, may our response always be as Mary’s – “Let it be to me according to Your word” (v. 38).
Thank You, Jesus, You always give us a word in due season. Our hope is not in man, or the world’s system, no, it is in You and You alone. Whenever we find ourselves hopeless, discouraged, feeling defeated, let us lift up our head and shout: But with God – all things are possible! May we be so filled with Your Word, that Scriptures of hope and faith instantly come to our heart and mind to counterattack the lies of our enemy. Whatever we are facing, let us remind ourselves, “but with God, all things are possible.”
ንመጻኢ፡ ብእምነት ኣብ ኣምላኽ ግጠሞ
ብ ዳብሊው ሲ ሙር (1890 – 1980)
“ዓመጻ ስለ ዝበዝሔ ድማ፡ ናይ ብዙሓት ፍቕሪ ኽትዝሕል እያ” (ማቴ 24፡12)። ሕጂ ኣበሳ ምብዛሑን ፍቕሪ ብዙሓት ሰብ ዝሑል ምዃኑን፡ ኣብ መንጎ እቶም ፍቕሮም ናብ ብሩኽ ጐይታና ዝዘሓለ “ብዙሓት” ክንከውን ኣሎና ማለት ኣይኮነን! እንታይ ደኣ፡ ሙ ንእግዚኣብሔር ሒዝና፡ ነገራት ክሳብ ክንደይ ጸልማት ይመስሉ ብዘየገድስ፡ እምነትና ኣብ ኣምላኽ ክንቅጽልን ኣለና።
እቲ ኣብ ቃል ኣምላኽ (2ጢሞ 3፡1-17) ዝተዘረበሉ ሓደገኛ እዋን፡ ንድሕሪት ክንምለስ ዝጽውዕ ጻውዒት እዩ። እዚ ሎሚ ዘጋጥመና ዘሎ ናይ ራዕድን ሓደጋን መዓልታት፡ ንዓና ናይ ዕድል መዓልታት እዩ። እግዚኣብሄር፡ ኣብ መንጎ ህዝቢ ምስክር ክንከውን ይጽውዓና (ግብ 1፡8)። ኢየሱስ “ከምኡ ኸኣ ነቲ ጽቡቕ ግብሪኹም ርእዮም፡ ኣብ ሰማያት ንዘሎ ኣቦኹም ኼመስግንዎ፡ ብርሃንኩም ኣብ ቅድሚ ሰብ ይብራህ” (ማቴ 5፡16) ይብል።
ምእንቲ እዚ ዝፈርሐን ዝተበሳጨወን ህዝቢ ናብ ፈጣሪ ክምለስ፡ ብርሃን ፍቕሪ ኣምላኽ (ናይቲ ዘድሓነና ዓቢ ድሕነትን፡ ብርሃን ናይቲ ንፈትዎን እንኣምኖን፡ ጎይታ ዘይንቕነቕ ተወፋይነትን) ይድመቕ!
ኣብ ተኣማንነት ኣምላኽ፡ ብምሉእ ምጽጋዕ
ኣብዛ ዝጸልመተት ሰዓት፡ ንኹሉ ጸገማት ምሉእ ብምሉእ ኣብ ተኣማንነት ኣምላኽ ተጸጊዕካ ግጠሞ። ዝኾነ ኩነታት፡ ዝኾነ ከቢድ ዝመስል፡ ጸልማትን ሓደገኛን ኩነታት፡ ንኣምላኽ ከቢድ ኣይኮነን። ኩሉ ነገር ይፈልጥ እዩ። ንሱ ድማ ይሓልየልና እዩ (1ጴጥ 5፡7፤ 1ዮሃ 3፡20)። ንኣምላኽ ዝኸብዶ ነገር የለን (ኤር 32፡17)። ምስ ኣምላኽ ኩሉ ይከኣል እዩ (ማቴ 19፡26)።
ኣብ ክንዲ ንከቢድ ኩነታት፡ ዝተሓላለኸ ዕንቅፋታት፡ ተሪር ዕንቅፋታት፡ ሓዘን ዝመልኦ ፈተናታት፡ ብፍርሕን ምንቅጥቃጥን ምግጣም፡ ተሓጐስ። እግዚኣብሄር ካብ ድምር ውጺኢት ኩሉ ነገር ዝዓቢ እዩ፣ የፍቅረናን ኩሉ ግዜ ክንውከሎን ክንእዘዞን ይምነ። ኣምላኽ ካብ ዝኾነ ከፍርሓካ ዝኽእል ቅልውላው ይዓቢ።
እግዚኣብሔር ከም ዝገደፈና፡ ሓይሉን ጥበቡን ከም ዝሰኣነ፡ እሙን ፈጣሪና ከም ዘይኰነን ብፍርሒ ዝመልኦ ኣተሓሳስባ፡ ኣእምሮ ወይ ልቢ፡ ንከቢድ ኩነታት ፈጺምካ ኣይትግጠም። ንሱ ብፍቕሩ፣ ድሮ ነቲ ሓደ ወዱ ብምሃብ ርህራሄኡ ኣርእዩናን ገሊጹልናን ኣሎ (1ጴጥ 4፡12-19፣ ሮሜ 8፡26-39)። ንኣምላኽ፡ ተኣማንነቱን ልዕለ ባህርያዊ ሓይሉን ዝያዳ ንኽገልጽ ዕድል ስለ ዝህቦ፡ ንኸበድቲ ነገራት ብሃንቀውታ ንግጠም። ሃሌሉያ!
“ድሌትኩም ዘበለስ ብጸሎትን ልማኖን ምስናይ ምስጋና ኣብ ኣምላኽ ይፈለጥ ኣምበር፡ ብገለ እኳ ኣይትጨነቑ።” (ፊል 4፡6)
ብቅንዕና ንንበር
ወትሩ ሓገዝ እግዚኣብሔር ምእንቲ ክህልወና፡ ከም ፍቓዱ ንነብር ምህላውናን፡ ብመሰረት ቃሉ፡ ኣብ ሓጢኣት ከም ዘይንነብርን፥ ንኣብነት፡ ሃናጺ ዘይኮነ ነቐፌታ ንኻልኦት ክርስትያናት፡ ብሸለልትነት፡ ብነብሰ ምትላል፡ ብተንኮል፡ ብጽልኢ ንኻልኦት ሰባት፡ ግቡእና ሸለል ብምባል፡ ወይ ብኻልእ ገለ ሓጢኣት ወይ እናተረድእና ብዘይምእዛዝን ንኣምላኽ ኣብ ቃሉ ብዘይምእማንን ከም ዘይኣሕዘንናዮ ነረጋግጽ።
“ኣቱም ፍቁራተይ፡ ልብና እንተ ዘይነቐፈና፡ ኣብ ኣምላኽ ትብዓት ኣሎና። ንትእዛዛቱ እንሕሉን ኣብ ቅድሚኡ ባህ ዜብሎ እንገብርን ስለ ዝዀንና፡ ነቲ እንልምኖ ዘበለ ኻብኡ ንቕበል ኢና።” (1ዮሃ 3፡21-22)
ቃል ኣምላኽ ተመገብ። “…ሰብ ካብ ኣፍ ኣምላኽ ብዝወጽእ ኵሉ ቃል ደኣ እምበር ብእንጌራ ጥራይ ኣይነብርን” (ማቴ 4፡4)። ነፍስና ልክዕ ከም ኣካላትና መግቢ ከም ዘድልያ ተገንዘብ። ፍቓዱ ምእንቲ ክትፈልጥን፡ ፍቓዱ ክትገብር ድማ ክትሕይልን፡ ንንባብን ንቓል ኣምላኽ ንምስትንታንን ግዜ ውሰድ።
ኣብ ጸልማት ብኣምላኽ ተኣማመን
ኣብርሃም ይስሃቅ ክውለድ ንዓመታት ብእምነት ተጸበየ። ስለዚ መልሲ ጸሎት ክድንጉይ ይኽእል እኳ እንተኾነ፡ እምነትና ምቕጻል ክንመሃር ከድልየና ይኽእል እዩ። ኣብ ጸልማት ንኣምላኽ ምውካል ክንመሃር ከድልየና ይኽእል እዩ።
“ካባኻትኩምሲ ንእግዚኣብሄር ዚፈርህ፡ ንድምጺ ባርያኡ’ውን ዚሰምዕ መን እዩ፧ እቲ ብጸልማት ዚመላለስ ብርሃን ከኣ ዚስእን፡ ኣብ ስም እግዚኣብሄር ይወከል፡ ኣብ ኣምላኹውን ይጸጋዕ።” (ኢሳ 50፡10)።
ዳዊት ወትሩ ኣብ በረኽቲ (ከረን) ድዩ ነይሩ፧ ጳውሎስ ወትሩ ካብ ምድሪ ጸበባን ጭንቀትን ወጻኢ ድዩ ኔሩ፧ (2ቆሮንቶስ 11፡23-33፤ 12፡1-10፣ ፊልጲ 4፡13 ኣንብብ)። ኣምላኽ ክንፍተን እንተ ዘይኣፍቒዱ፡ ንሕና ባዕልና ከመይ ጌርና ሓቀኛ ዕምቆት ናይ ገዛእ ርእስና ፍቕሪ ንኣምላኽን፡ ናይቲ ንዓና ዘለዎ ፍቕሪን ክንፈልጥ ንኽእል፧ ኣብ ሮሜ 8፡28 ዘሎ “ኵሉ ነገር” ዝብል ሓሳብ ንዘክር፥ “ነቶም ንኣምላኽ ዜፍቅሩ፡ ከም ምኽሩ’ውን እተጸውዑ ግና ኵሉ ንሰናዮም ከም ዚድግፎም፡ ንፈልጥ ኢና።”
ኣብ ልብና፡ ልክዕ ከም ቖልዓ፡ ኣብ ኣምላኽ እምነት ምስ ዝህልወና፡ ልቢ ኣምላኽ ጥሕጎስ። ቅድሚ ነዊሕ ዓመታት “እምነት ክህልወካ ኣዝዩ ከቢድ እዩ።” ኢለ ይሓስብ ኔረ። ብኡብኡ ጐይታ ንልበይ ከምዚ ኢሉ ተዛረቦ፡ “ክትኣምን ኣየጸግምን እዩ። ቆልዓ’ውን ከይተረፈ ክኣምን ይኽእል እዩ። ንኽትኣምን ክትሓስብ ኣየድልየካን እዩ።” ኣብ እዘን ዝሓለፋ ዓመታት ከኣ፡ እዚ ንዓይ መተባብዕን ምጽንናዕን ኮነኒ።
“ብምሉእ ልብኻ ኣብ እግዚኣብሄር ተወከል። ናብ ኣእምሮኻ ኣይትጸጋዕ” (ምሳ 3፡5)። ነዚ ቃል ተኣዚዝና፡ ብሙሉእ ልብና ኣብ ጎይታ ክንውከል ከለና፡ ዝጭነቕ ወይ ዝፈርሕ ልቢ ኣይህልወናን። ናብ ርድኢትና “ክንጽጋዕ” የብልናን። ንምጥርጣርን ንፍርሕን ቦታ ኣይትሃብ! ንዲያብሎስ ተቓወሞ። ቦታ ኣይትሃቦ (ያእ 4፡7-8፣ ኤፌ 4፡27)።
ኣብ ልዕሊ ህቦብላ፡ ቀስተ ደመና ርአ
ኣምላኽ ናይ ተኣምራት ኣምላኽ እዩ። መገድታቱ መገድና ኣይኮነትን (ኢሳ 55፡8-13)። እቲ ኣምላኽ ንኣብርሃም ዝኣተዎ መብጽዓ ብሓቂ ክፍጸም ነይሩዎ፣ ወድን ወራሲን ክወልድ ነይርዎ፣ ይስሃቅ ግን ኣብርሃም ምስ ሸምገለ እዩ ተወሊዱ (ዕብ 11፡8-12)።
ጐይታ፡ እቲ ተኣምራት ዝገብር ወዲ ኣምላኽ፡ ኣብ መንጎ ክልተ ሸፋቱ ምስ ተሰቕለ፡ እቶም ደቀ መዛሙርቱ ድማ ፋሕ ምስ በሉ፥ ዝተሳዕረን ኩነታት ዝጸልመተን ይመስል ነበረ። እንተኾነ ድሕሪ ሓምሳ መዓልቲ ኣቢሉ እቲ ዓቢ ተሃድሶ ኣብ መዓልቲ ጴንጠቆስጠ ተፈንጀረ!
ሎሚ ኣብ ሓደ ካብ ዝጸልመተ ሰዓታት ምድሪ ንነብር እኳ እንተለና፡ እግዚኣብሄር ንእስራኤል ናብ ሞገሱ ቅድሚ ምምላሱ ካልእ ሓያል በዓለ ጴንጠቆስጠ ክሰድድን ካብ ኣህዛብ ብዙሓት ከም ዘድሕንን ንእመን (ሮሜ 11፡1-32)። ገጸና ናብ እግዚኣብሄር ኣምላኽና ንምለስ (ዳን 9፡3)፡ ንኣምላኽ ክንሕዞ ንንቓሕ (ኢሳ 64፡7)፡ ኣምላኽ መጺኡ ጽድቂ ክሳዕ ዘዝንበልና ድማ ንጸሊ (ሆሴ 10፡12)።
Face The Future With Faith In God
By W. C. Moore (1890 – 1980)
“Because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold” (Matt. 24:12). The fact that now iniquity does abound and that the love of many does wax cold does not mean that we must be among that “many” whose love has grown cold toward our blessed Lord! Rather, it is a direct challenge and a warning to us to stir up ourselves to take hold of God and press toward the mark as never before and to continue to have faith in God regardless of how dark things look.
The perilous times spoken of in God’s Word (2 Tim. 3:1-17) are a call not to retreat or to retrench, but rather to advance. Days of terror and peril and danger such as we face today are days of opportunity for us. The Lord calls us to be witnesses unto Him right out among the people (Acts 1:8). Jesus says, “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven” (Matt. 5:16).
Oh, to let the light of God’s love, and the assurance of the great salvation wherewith He has saved us and the light of unswerving devotion to the Lord we love and trust – so shine before a frightened and frustrated people that they too may turn unto God!
Full Reliance on God’s Faithfulness
In this darkening hour, face all problems in full reliance upon God’s faithfulness. No situation, no condition, no difficult, involved, unknown, untried, dark and dangerous circumstance or combination of circumstances is too hard for God. He knows all things. And He cares for us (1 Pet. 5:7; 1 John 3:20). Nothing is too hard for God (Jer. 32:17). With God all things are possible (Matt. 19:26).
Instead of facing difficult situations, intricate obstacles, obstinate hindrances, sorrowful testings, large demands, heavy responsibilities in fear and dread and trembling – rather, rejoice! God is bigger than it all put together, and He loves us and desires that we trust and obey Him always. God is greater than any crisis which might be frightening you.
Never face difficult and involved tasks and circumstances in a fearful attitude of mind or heart, as though God had gone off and left us, as though He had lost His power and His wisdom and His almightiness, as though He were not our faithful Creator, who in His love, has already shown and manifested His compassion for us by giving His only begotten Son (1 Pet. 4:12-19; Rom. 8:26-39). Let us eagerly face hard things because it gives God a chance to manifest yet further His faithfulness and His supernatural might. Hallelujah!
“Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God” (Phil. 4:6).
Live Right
To the end that we may always have God’s help, let us be sure that our lives are lined up in His will, according to His Word – that we are not living in sin, that we are not grieving God by unbelief in His Word, by criticism of other Christians, by carelessness, by self-indulgence, by deceitfulness, by hatred of other people, by neglect of known duties, or by any other sin of neglect or of positive disobedience.
“Beloved, if our heart condemn us not, then have we confidence toward God. And whatsoever we ask, we receive of Him, because we keep His commandments, and do those things that are pleasing in His sight” (1 John 3:21-22).
Feed on the Word of God. “…Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God” (Matt. 4:4). Realize that our soul needs nourishment as well as our body. Take time, make time, use time for reading and also for meditating on God’s Word, that you may know His will, and that you may be strong to do His will!
Trust God in the Dark
Abraham waited for years in faith for Isaac to be born. So we may need to learn to keep on believing though answers to prayer may be delayed. We may need to learn to trust God in the dark.
“Who is among you that feareth the Lord, that obeyeth the voice of His servant, that walketh in darkness, and hath no light? Let him trust in the name of the Lord, and stay upon his God” (Isa. 50:10).
Was David always on the mountain top? Was Paul always out of the land of trouble and distress? (Read the Psalms, Second Corinthians 11:23-33; 12:1-10; Philippians 4:13.) How are we ourselves ever to know the true depth of our own love to God, and of His love to us, unless He suffers us to be tempted and tried? Let us remember the “all things” of Romans 8:28 – “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to His purpose.”
Oh, to have in our very heart of hearts, that simple childlike trust in God that delights His heart! Years ago I was thinking, “It is so hard to have faith. It is so hard to believe.” Immediately the Lord spoke to my heart: “It is not hard to believe. Even a child can trust. You do not have to think to trust.” And through the years, that has been an encouragement and a comfort to me.
“Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding” (Prov. 3:5). As we obey this Word and trust in the Lord with all our heart, we have no heart left with which to worry, or fear or fret. We are not even to “lean” unto our own understanding. Give no place to doubt or fear! Resist the devil. Give no place to him (Jas. 4:7-8; Eph. 4:27).
See the Rainbow on the Storm Clouds!
God is the God of the miraculous. His ways are not our ways (Isa. 55:8-13). God’s promise to Abraham was indeed to be fulfilled that he should have a son and heir, but Isaac was born when Abraham was “as good as dead” (Heb. 11:8-12).
When the Lord, the miracle-working Son of God, was crucified between two thieves, and the disciples were scattered, was not that an hour of midnight gloom, and unutterable defeat – to all appearances – for the followers of Jesus? Yet in about fifty days thereafter, the great revival burst forth on the day of Pentecost!
Although we today live in one of the earth’s darkest hours since Calvary, let us believe God to send yet another mighty Pentecost and save multitudes from among the Gentiles before He grafts Israel back into His favor (Rom. 11:1-32). Let us set our faces (Dan. 9:3), and stir up ourselves to take hold of God (Isa. 64:7), and pray through till God comes and rains righteousness upon us (Hos. 10:12).
Serious And Watchful In These Last Days
By Rich Carmicheal
“…The end of all things is at hand; therefore be serious and watchful in your prayers” (1 Pet. 4:7).
This certainly is an hour to be serious and watchful in prayer! The signs of the times make it clear that we are in the last of the last days with the Return of the Lord drawing ever near. As Jesus forewarned, “Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places. All these are the beginning of sorrows” (Matt. 24:7-8). He goes on to warn of increased persecution, hatred, deception and lawlessness, and that the love of many will grow cold (vv. 9-12).
Of course, these signs go hand in hand with conditions in our day. In regard to international tensions and war, not only are there the ongoing concerns with Russia and Ukraine, but also the increasing concerns that China will invade Taiwan – and the impact that will make in the world. And what may the near future hold for Israel and the world as Iran pursues nuclear capabilities? As one news source recently pointed out, “Israel considers Iran to be its greatest enemy and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has repeatedly said he will not allow Iran to develop a nuclear weapon.”
Think also of the many millions of people suffering today because of famines, droughts, pestilences, earthquakes and other natural disasters. And extreme events such as these are only increasing in frequency and intensity.
On a moral level, could we have imagined even a few decades ago how rapidly traditional values would decline? Hatred, deception, lawlessness and immorality are now marks of our day. As Franklin Graham shared recently, “The world is deteriorating so quickly. It seems like every demon in hell has been turned loose.” He believes a storm is coming and warns, “And we cannot be deceived and can’t be fooled. We need to get ready and be prepared.”
